Breaded red snapper - any suggestions?
I've been a terribly picky eater all my life - seafood particularly is my downfall - and it makes me crazy, so this year I've gone on a try-everything binge to force myself to try new things and find ones I like.
And wouldn't you know it, at Iberico in Chicago this weekend I tried this amazing lightly breaded red snapper that absolutely floored me - it was delicious! So now, fish novice that I am, I'm on a quest to try it again. Anyone have any places they particularly like for red snapper, breaded or otherwise? I'm not quite ready to start cooking it at home - I want to taste around first!
krissa_cavouras
May 30, 2008 10:45AM
Hi krissa cavouras,
Since I haven't dined at Iberico before, I can't really do a comparison on whether the snapper dishes I am suggesting are better. Hopefully they will at least make you enjoy snapper more than before.
For me, the true way of enjoying snapper is really sashimi. There are many different types of snappers, and you can try out plenty of snapper sushi or sashimi (the "tai" family, or most fish ends with "-dai" in Japanese). They are delicate in taste with a subtle sweetness. Most high quality sushi restaurants like Yasuda and Kanoyama will constantly carry a variety of tai fish and it is, IMO, the best way to enjoy the original flavor of the snapper family.
If you are not ready for raw snapper in sashimi style, there are a few places that serve snapper with different approaches. Jean Georges has a lunch entree with snapper crusted with nuts in sweet and sour jus. It has a crunchy skin and moist flesh served with a light sauce (the sauce is lighter than it sounds), and JG is usually quite good in preparing their fish. At dinner, the snapper apppears in a pan-seared (?) form with lily bulb and radish salad. I thought it was good, but didn't excite me too much. I prefer the lunch version.
Its sister restaurant, Perry St., serves a Japanese snapper sashimi with lemon, olive oil, and crispy skin. I think this is a great way to try snapper raw without being too "naked". It is similar to a crudo style fish, and the olive oil is just very lightly drizzled on top in this case. The crispy skin is a nice touch that adds an extra crunch to the dish. I like this dish a lot.
A steamed red snapper is also served as an entree with purple potato butter at Perry St. It is a fine dish if they don't overcook it, but Perry St is a little inconsistent at time. On a good day it can be a very delightful dish.
Soto, another great restaurant specializes in Japanese fusion food, has a wild snapper carpaccio with aged vinegar, sea salt, sesame oil, and chopped ginger shoot and cilantro. It is a great appetizer that even people who don't like raw fish will enjoy (unless you don't like cilantro). Each ingredient complements very well with each other, adding depth to flavor without overpowering the snapper's sweetness.
Minute steamed tai gives the wild snapper a light treatment so that it is just barely cooked. The accompanied ginger and scallion oil do their job in highlighting the freshness of the fish, a take that you can find in Chinese preparation as well. The only problem is that only 4 tiny pieces are served at a time, so it may not be enough to satisfy any snapper lover. A similar version can be found at Morimoto.
Of course, you can always go to Aquagrill, a seafood restaurant, in which you can enjoy their grilled florida red snapper with a sesame cucumber salad, sautéed bok choy, roasted scallions and shiitake vinaigrette. If this preparation does not appeal to you, they will cook your snapper (and any fish available on the menu) the way you like it - grilled, poached, or roasted. Let's keep it simple, and let the snapper shine.
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I went to Kanoyama tonight and they had some amazing snapper on the menu! Kinmedai, golden eye snapper (from Japan), was wonderful, as was the kasuogdai (baby red snapper) and kodai (baby snapper). I think those were the three I had (the waitress said things so quickly) in the omakase set. All were very very good.
http://kanoyama.com/specials.php
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Thanks so much, both of you! I'll definitely try some of these ideas.
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Had a great crispy whole red snapper at Pampano last night, very light and served with a tomato salad (perfect for the 95 degree heat!) Apparently this is one of their signature dishes...
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